Why You Should Try Intermittent Fasting This Winter
Posted: September 11, 2023 | By: Shanon Peckham
Fall is here! With the holidays around the corner, now is the perfect time to consider restructuring your daily routine in the New Year. Finish off the year with a plan and start the New Year healthier than ever. One of the ways you can shake things up involves changing your approach to eating…
Today, we will explore the many potential benefits of intermittent fasting, and how you can add it to your routine to support your overall health.
THE BENEFITS OF INTERMITTENT FASTING
Intermittent fasting’s biggest claim to fame is its association with improved longevity, but what does that actually look like? According to several studies, it may bolster good health through many processes that occur at the cellular level. Fasting has been demonstrated to help with cell reparation by inducing one of the body’s natural cleanup processes, autophagy. To put it simply, fasting increases the amount of time our bodies spend cleaning up damaged cells, which may help slow aging and prevent diseases like cancer.1,2 Intermittent fasting may also protect cells and reduce inflammation (the cause of many diseases14) by reducing the damage done by oxidative stress.2,3 Additionally, research suggests that fasting may help regulate blood pressure, boost memory, and generate neurons, all of which promote better health in the heart and brain.4,5
Beyond protecting cells and preventing cell damage, intermittent fasting also plays a big part in healthy weight management. Less snacking and fewer meals means the body has less excess fat to store. In between meals, our insulin levels decrease, enabling stored fat to be used as energy.6 As an added bonus, we may also feel more energized by this new eating routine. According to Sutter Health, this energy boost may be due to fasting’s effect on mitochondrial function and the production of ketones, which you may know about from trying our Keto 90 diet.5 With this information and a healthy meal plan, we can decrease our risk of developing obesity-related conditions like heart disease, strokes, type 2 diabetes, and cancer.7
Did you know that 37.3 million people (11.3% of the U.S. population) have diabetes?8 Because this disease represents the eighth leading cause of death in America (as of 2021)9 and puts nearly all of the body’s systems under damaging amounts of chronic stress,10 we wanted to highlight how intermittent fasting may benefit those with diabetes (or those who may be at higher risk for developing it). Research shows that fasting can decrease insulin resistance and help with blood sugar control, 2,11,12 which in turn may reduce the severity of diabetes symptoms (and in some cases negate the need for insulin therapy).11,13 Fasting may also offer additional protection against diabetes-related complications and diseases, including cardiovascular disease.13
WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU TRY INTERMITTENT FASTING
After reading about all the health-supporting benefits of fasting, we know you’re eager to try it right away, but we have a few words of caution! This dietary system isn’t guaranteed to work for everyone. Depending on genetics and other health conditions you may have, intermittent fasting may not be the best option for your body or lifestyle. If you are nursing, pregnant, have a history of eating disorders, or diabetes, you should hold off on starting a new diet until you speak to your doctor.
Before you dive into intermittent fasting, the experts also recommend balancing out your diet. Make sure you’re getting enough protein, vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients every week. “If you’re used to eating sugary, carbohydrate-rich meals, fasting is going to make you feel very deprived and want to binge eat,” Dr. Ronesh Sinha told Sutter Health.5 “You need to first fix your metabolism by eating nutrient-dense meals that keep you satiated.”
Whether you’re ready to jump in and try intermittent fasting now, or you need a little bit of time to sort out a healthier meal plan, here are a few of the products we recommend to help you get started:
TMR Total Meal Replacement Shake and Super GreensTM – break your first fast with these delicious, full spectrum nutrient blends.
Slender FXTM True Keto Shake – pair this keto-friendly protein shake mix with intermittent fasting for sustained energy.
H.G.H. Youth ComplexTM – support your overall health and immune system with essential amino acids, vitamins, and minerals.
SOURCES
1 The effect of fasting or calorie restriction on autophagy induction: A review of the literature, 2018
2 Intermittent and periodic fasting, longevity and disease, 2021
3 Impact of intermittent fasting on human health: an extended review of metabolic cascades, 2019
4 Intermittent Fasting: What is it, and how does it work?, Johns Hopkins Medicine
5 Fasting: What You Need to Know, Sutter Health
6 Intermittent fasting: The positive news continues, Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School, 2021
7 Adult Obesity Facts, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
8 Diabetes Statistics, Diabetes Research Institute Foundation
9 Mortality in the United States, 2021, NCHS Data Brief
10 Diabetes and Your Immune System, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
11 Intermittent fasting: is there a role in the treatment of diabetes? A review of the literature and guide for primary care physicians, 2021
12 Intermittent fasting vs daily calorie restriction for type 2 diabetes prevention: a review of human findings, 2014
13 Clinical Management of Intermittent Fasting in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus, 2019
14 Inflammation, NIH National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Posted in:
